More Than Pretty Things

If you've been following Christ for a while, have you ever stopped to think about how many hours you've spent in church? Then add in the hours spent in personal prayer, in scripture reading, in Bible study, in community groups. I did some quick and extremely unscientific tallying and figured that over the 22 years I've been a Christian, I've probably spent at least 10,000 hours in active personal pursuit of God.

You know how long it sometimes takes me to feel like I have no idea what to do or say when I want to start a spiritual conversation with someone who doesn't share my faith? I'd say 10 seconds.

Why is that? What is so paralyzing about simply opening my mouth and talking about something that is so central to my life? Well, it's fear, of course. Fear of what, though? Again, a quick and unscientific list:

creating distance or disconnect in a relationship that's important to me

not knowing what to say to move the conversation into a spiritual direction

not having the answer and looking foolish

losing my composure and being a poor witness for Christ

My friends Kelsey, Carrie and Terri were feeling this same discontent in their own lives, and, in fact, it was the seed of the idea for EtchLife.

You can listen more about their stories in this 90-second video, but the upshot of it is that they realized they, like so many of us, were compartmentalizing their faith into Sunday mornings and Bible studies and those sort of "safe" spaces. But they knew that God calls us to more. He calls us to share what He's given us and to make disciples. So these ladies did something really cool...they took the gifts God had given them in design, in business and in their heart for others, and they started designing products based around scripture that would help them and others to learn God's Word, live it out and share it with others.

This philosophy is the core of every EtchLife product we offer you. Whether it's something you wear, something you carry, something you hang on the wall in your house, or something you get as a gift to encourage a friend, know that we're always about more than selling pretty things. (But don't worry, we will make sure all the things are pretty. We love that part too.) We're about creating products that etch God's Word on your heart, encourage you as you seek to live life for Him and put gifts in your hands so you can give God away.

Nicole Swanson serves EtchLife as a Community Coordinator, helping us connect via social media and email. She also coordinates our EtchLife Affiliate Team. She's married to Craig and has two fast-growing kids.